RVCA Presents: Ari Browne, The Rookie

Thursday, 7 July 2016posted by James Willmott

Ari Browne is no stranger to revolutionary surfboard designs and eccentric styles of surfing. Ask anyone from the North Coast of New South Wales, and they’ll tell you he’s always bringing something new to the lineup, blowing minds and having more fun than most others while he’s at it.

In this latest edit presented by RVCA, we explore Browne’s early life as a toy collector, and discover what aspects shaped the path into his very different approach to professional surfing.

“I don’t think surfing should be taken seriously. It’s about having fun and doing fun stuff with your friends. I always see people get caught up in the macho egotistical side of it…”

Ari you legend, thanks for catching up!Yeah, for sure! My pleasure.

First and foremost, you’ve just dropped your new clip with RVCA, where did you film most of it?Yeah! It was shot in 3 locations. The majority of it was shot in glorious nation of US and A. We surfed around the Trestles area which was rad. Also Mexico; we did a strike mission into the Northern Baja. Camping and living simply, although we didn’t really get the waves we wanted haha. And finally here, in Aus, around Byron Bay.

How long does it normally take to put a clip like this together?I guess it all really depends, sometimes all it takes is one banger of a session and you’ve amounted 3 minutes of footage and other times it takes 3 months. This one was an easy 3 monthery. Lets face it, I’m pretty torched.

You obviously surf finless boards. What makes that style of surfing so special and unique?Good question, I think in surfing I’m personally addicted to new feelings, whether it be a new board, a new wave, a new maneuver, I’m constantly craving and searching for these qualities. It’s how I get most jazzed, by these thrilling sensations or moments of surprise and astonishment. Also, finless surfing is special as it’s relatively unexplored, it’s a frontier with abundant possibilities and opportunities. I should also mention that it’s pure fun.

We’ve seen you sporting a few different shapes than the standard fish or longboard shapes. Give us a run down on some of your favourites in the quiver?Boards! love em! Sometimes, I think I like boards as much as surfing mother nature. My top five boards would be (in order of preference, conditions dependent— of course)

Tell us about this lazy susan invention? Is this the first of its kind?To my knowledge, it’s completely original and authentic, and useless haha! Nah, it’s brilliant in small doses. On an average day with the company of a good mate we achieved a rare thing, an original idea. Dr. Milky Peters aka Travis, (the brain child of the lazy susan) casually mentioned it to me after we had finished drinking a very powerful coffee. From conception it only took a humble 6 hours to build the apparatus. Basically, it’s a 7 foot board with spinning platform attached to it. You can step onto it and spin as though on a desk chair. It’s one of the most disorientating things I’ve ever done!

Describe the perfect wave setup for a finless board?I think there’s a few variations of perfect. An overhead, lightly offshore point break that doesn’t section off to much. Wedges, gnarly wedges off rock walls are insane for finless surfing. So much power and push, it lets you try things otherwise impossible. Longboarding conditions are killer too if you’ve got enough length in your board. Personally, I find it far more stimulating then riding the Malibu.

What are the best things about living in Australia?Chiko rolls & VB tins!